Its the second day of the Race of Champions (ROC) after yesterday showed Father and Son Duo from Norway to win the team race in the final against USA now sees the individual racing today in Sweden. We have the live running commentary of all of todays races from breaking down each lap/ heat of the races from Matches all the way to the final below.
18 individuals will be battling it out in round of 16s in a single circuit race (2 laps) straight knockout to reach quarter finals which is first to win 2 races, following for semi finals and finals which is first of 3 wins. Compared to yesterday they are able to use the full circuit today due to Friday night stormy weather saw half of the track not be drivable for Saturday’s race as half is on the beach and the other half on the Baltic sea.
Match A and B start off first to get into the round of 16 sees Colton Herta vs Helio Castroneves in the Polaris, and Match B Jamie Chadwick vs Mick Schumacher. Match A first race goes to Herta by 0.5s and second lap see Herta to win Match A to progress to the next round which is against the winner of either Mick or Jamie. Match B Mick vs Jamie in the Rally Cross Car Jamie gets away quickly to create a lead over Mick by Mick takes the lead of the first lap with over a second difference, second lap see Jamie to beat Mick by 1.4 second to advance to the next round, round of 16 against Herta.
Round of 16 races, first up Jamie Chadwick vs Herta in the RX2e Chadwick going a bit wide and close to coming into the snow banks, but takes the lead of the first half of the circuit for over a second and half difference. Coming towards the end sees Chadwick spinning into the bank letting Herta take the win and advance to the next round. Next Seb Vettel vs W series Emma Kilmilainen in the Polaris Seb creating a lead but towards to the end saw being 0.06 seconds difference to Emma in the led in the first half, to the end see Vettel win by 2.2 second margin to progress into the next round against Herta.
Jimmie Johnston vs Mika Hakkinen in Round 16 C in the Porsche, Johnston barely got off the line, moving so slow when starting, with Hakkinen taking about a 2.8 second lead in the first half of the circuit. However its Johnston crossing the line first with a 3 second difference, see both Americans progressing further and potentially having an American Quarter final. Round 16 D Kristensen vs Coulthard in the RX2e Coulthard into the bank on the end before coming into the corner, always finding new ways of crashing Coulthard….. Kris has a lead of 0.7 second in the first half, Kristensen floors the power in the straight in what thought to be Coulthard to win turns out for Kristensen to win by 0.4 seconds and advance. Ending the round of 16 for the circuit racers.
Starting the Round 16th of the off road racers, first up Guerra vs yesterday winner O. Solberg, in the Polaris with Guerra defending his title having won it back in Mexico 2019 which was the last time officially this race taking place. Solberg driving under the Sweden flag due to dual nationalities. First half Solberg has the advantage by 2.8 seconds but with Guerra on the short half of the circuit getting close to the finish, Solberg on the power wins by 2.8 seconds difference to advance to the next round, which could see him against his father in the quarter final potentially.
Seb Loeb Vs the other half of the winning team from yesterday P. Solberg in the RX2e with Solberg with nearly a second ahead over Loeb in the first half, looks to be close but Loeb takes the win by 0.4 seconds with Solberg almost getting close to the bank on the last corner, see Loeb vs O Solberg int the next round.
Round 16 G see two swedes going head to head Kristofferson vs Hansen in the Rally Cross, great drifting on the corners by both drivers, see the advantage to Hansen by 2 seconds in the first half, Hansen goes off road changing lane and off track thus sending Kristofferson into the next round. having losing control into the banks kept the power driving over the separator and then trying to get back into his lane.
And finishing the second side of the round 16 is Auriol vs Ekstrom in the porches, with snow starting to come down on the track, first half sees the Sweden just ahead by 1.4 seconds and see the Swede to win by nearly 6 second difference and Auriol looked to have a jump start and finishing the race into the bank briefly. Thus having 2 swedes again against each other in the quarter final between Ekstrom vs Kristofferson.
Coming back to the other half of the bracket, sees quarter finals Herta vs Vettel in the rally cross, with Herta at the front at the moment, as this is the quarter finals its the first 2 race wins, Seb takes the first half by about 3 seconds over Herta. Vettel takes the first win with a time difference of 1.5 seconds, which can make the difference if it Herta wins the next race as it will go down to time difference. The second race in the Polaris good reaction time by Vettel with snow coming down more and more now, Herta on the Husky corner into the bank a bit, with Herta ahead about 1.9 seconds if it keeps like this Herta progresses to the Semi, but Vettel is on the short length of the track this time around, Herta wins but the gap of 1.2 thus Seb wins by 0.3 seconds to go into the semi final.
Johnston vs Kristensen in the Polaris Le man vs NASCAR in the first race of their quarter final heat, first half of the circuit sees Kristensen the advantage by 2 seconds and in the second half Kristensen takes the first win by nearly 1.5 second difference, but Johnston’s got one more chance to progress into the semi final. Second heat in the Rally Car, Johnston with the advantage by 2.2 seconds however Kristensen is now in the short half of the circuit, Johnston with a big gap coming into the last few corners, on the final push its going to be time, Johnston wins by 0.8 seconds thus Kristensen wins by 0.8 of a second. Both Americans knocked out to see Seb vs Kristensen into the semi finals.
O Solberg vs Loeb in the Porsche for the first race in the off road quarter final, both getting off the line quickly and even, with Loeb ahead by 4.5 seconds in the first half, Loeb creating a lead, on the power to take the first win by 3 second difference. Solberg still has a chance if he wins the next race with a higher margin in order to see him get into the quarter finals. Second race in the Rally car, with Solberg with a mead of 1.2 seconds, he needs to create a bigger gap and win to get into the semi, Solberg takes out a bit of the bank but keeps on going losing time however, its both identical! 0.000 race time. Loeb however wins due to time difference from the first race win. Loeb knocks out both winners of yesterday race.
Kristofferson vs Ekstrom in RX2e for the first race two swedes head to head, Ekstrom ahead by 2 seconds, both amazing utilizing the banks drifting, neat sideways turning on these corners. Ekstrom right onto the bank to create a close race and its Kristofferson to win by 0.010 almost photo race win and into the bank to slow down , Kristofferson takes the first win. Second race in the Polaris due to close time difference in the first race it looks to be a winner takes all race for this heat, Kristofferson takes the lead by 0.5 in the first half into the straight its hoping to be close and the Ekstrom to win by 0.4 to go into the semi finals with Loeb.
Semi Finals Vettel vs Kristensen is best a best of 3 races thus if a driver wins the first 2 then the third race wont take place. the weather conditions have changed with horizons and part of the track not being seen with the snow coming down heavy with high winds. First race in the RX2e Kristensen slowing down after the husky corn, with a red light on, Vettel wins as Kristensen car looks to have died in the first half of the race. Vettel keeps going on passing Kristensen to win the first round, for the best of 3 semi final race. Second race in the Polaris, if Seb wins he goes into the final if Kristensen wins we have one more race to see who goes into the final. Kristensen ahead so far but was in on the inside, Vettel comes ahead on the first half of the race by over 3 second difference. Coming into the straight see Seb wins to to the final with a 2 second difference. Seb taking to race directors about seeing for a third race due to Kristensen car failure however it doesn’t look possible thus solidifying Seb into the final.
Loeb vs Ekstrom first race in the Porsche, both off the line well, in one of the most trickiest cars of this competition, Ekstrom to have the advantage in the first half of the circuit Loeb getting a bit squirrelly in the straight not having traction in the back wheels as it cost him time. coming into the last bit of the track, sees such a close race and out of no where Loeb takes the first win. Second race in the Rally car, Ekstrom first corner turn drifting perfectly to get on the line. Total masterclass race between these two drivers, Loeb ahead by 0.7 in the first half, so tight into the last straight and its Ekstrom to win to make it a decider with a win of 2 seconds, onto the decider race in the RX2e to find out who will make it to the final against Vettel. Because Ekstrom have the faster time he choses his lane, which will be the left side first the inside. Loeb goes ahead at the halfway mark by 2.3 seconds with a big slide of Ekstrom on the straight, the snow and wind coming heavy down now, Loeb creating a large lead now, and Ekstrom into the bank, Loeb on the straight to win by 1.7 into the final.
The Final Seb Vettel vs Seb Loeb the battle of the Sebs, in a best of 5 heats, the German vs the French to decide who will win the ROC Sweden individual race, both have been in the final but never against each other. First race in the Polaris, close between the two in the first half of the race sees, Loeb ahead by 2.6 seconds with Vettel having a big hit into the bank on the straight. Second half Loeb creating a lead but Vettel on the inside, but Loeb wins the first race by 2 seconds, looking to get his 4th ROC individual wins in his career. Second Race in the the Rally Cross, both start the same, Loeb takes the lead by 0.2 with Vettel now on the inside, both close to each other coming into the straight, powering down see Loeb wins again by the 3.6 second difference. Loeb needs one more win to win the ROC Sweden Championship. Third race in the RX2e, snow piling up on the track, Loeb going a bit too deep on the corner, but Vettel goes into close on the husky corner, Loeb ahead by 3 seconds in the first half. Vettel into the bank on the corner. Loeb off the track, facing backwards to Vettel to take the led and win the third race, such a comeback with both Sebs making mistakes allowing Vettel to still have a chance to win the championship. Lots of slush puddles with snow, and wind covering the track. Forth race back in the Polaris, now Loeb won the first time in the final in the Polaris can he win again to take the championship? Loeb looking quick in the forth race, but its Vettel ahead at the halfway mark by 0.7 seconds, very tight between them, its going down to the wire,
but its LOEB! Sébastien Loeb Wins the champion a now 4 time winner of the ROC!